vExpert Spotlight: Eric Lee
Eric Lee
Today’s vExpert Spotlight interview is with Eric Lee. Eric is a Virtualization Engineer out of Kansas City…(mmmm BBQ) who is also the VMUG leader out that way. When he is not watching dirt track racing you may also find him hollering at the KU football team.
I was able to catchup with Eric at VMworld San Francisco this year. If most of you followed his story via Twitter recently, he almost didn’t make this year’s pilgrimage due to some work “complications” (we will just call it that for now). The amazing VMware Community jumped all over the opportunity to help a fellow comrade. Just awesome.
Anyone want to sponsor me for flights to VMworld? Travel $$ just yanked. #vmworld #vexpert #vmug
— ericlee.bsky.social (@ericblee6) August 28, 2015
Join us as we jump right into another vExpert Spotlight interview.
The Interview
Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars
Peanut Butter? Creamy, Chunky or No Way!
Crunchy
Favorite Adult Beverage?
Boulevard Brewery Tank 7 Beer
What was your 1st IT gig?
Sr year of high school I was approved for an internship at a VAR where in the beginning I learned PC/Printer maintenance and repair (I’m Okidata & Epson certified!!!), shuffled floppies for Novell 3.11 installs, ran & put ends on BNC and Cat4/5 cables, took out trash, cleaned bathrooms, shrink-wrapped conference literature packs and washed the owner’s cars. I started doing a lot on my own and within 6 months was deploying Netware 3.11 and NT 3.5. I worked there for 1.5 years before moving to KC for college.
What is your current job title and role?
My official job is a Designer on a Design Team within an ITIL model of design/implementation/operation but I work on a ton of different projects. I was in London a couple months ago migrating VM’s and servers across town, designed and helped implement a multi-site SQL AlwaysOn Availability Group cluster, working on what our SDDC vision will be, and mentoring other System Admins. I pretty much go where ever I am needed.
How many years have you been a vExpert?
3 years
What other IT Communities are you involved with or frequent?
The PernixPro Community
What advice would you give to others involved in the VMware community who are looking at becoming a vExpert?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and/or offer advice. There’s so many different ways to do things that your suggestion could really help someone else out. No one knows everything so there’s always something you can offer to the community.
Do you currently have a Home Lab environment?
I have a Cisco 1710 router, Cisco SG300 managed switch and 3 Shuttle PC’s with 2 x 1TB Sata & 1 x 250 GB SSD in each. Use VSAN for storage redundancy and FVP to accelerate vRA deployments that I don’t care if I lose.
How do you use VMware products or services in your daily work life?
The company I work at has a decent global presence and is utilizing a lot of the current VMware product sets. I utilize vCloud Director to test new Operating Systems and Database layout designs. Once setup and working properly I train other System Admins using these vApps. They are allowed to revert snapshots so they can learn how to install and manage the systems before they move into production. We also use vRealize Automation in a new environment that we are working on automating the full life cycle for some hosted applications.
What certifications do you currently hold (if any)?
VCP-DCV, MCSE (2000), Okidata, Epson, Compaq, and Novell
What’s your go to song or music genre when work stress becomes too much?
I have 3 Pandora stations setup for just this, depending on the mood stress gets me into. Kriss Kross (all old school hip-hop), N.W.A. for some Gangsta-Rap and Bob Marley when I need to just relax.
Tell us something about yourself that the community may not already know.
First off, I don’t like Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel Comics, etc… I only answered the question above as I had to. (Ohhhh, Snap! lol)
While in my Jr year of high school, my mom saw computers advancing within the car dealership she worked at and encouraged me to apply for an internship working on them. She thought I’d love how the industry changes so fast (even at that time) and with my math/science skills I would excel at it. I owe my career to my mom driving me this direction. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life before then.
Do you have a blog that you would like to share?
Let us know how to contact you via social media.
I use ericblee6 on all social media sites, such as Twitter, UnTappd, etc..
Eric thank you very much for being a part of the vExpert Spotlight series! I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to chat with me & share with our great community.
Please hit up Eric on Twitter & also on his personal blog.
Lookup and browse the current 2015 vExperts in the vExpert Online Directory
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